THE STORY BEHIND ELE
A week later I had a flight to Florida to get murdered — or have the job of a lifetime.
I'm Erika. I grew up in a farm town in northwest Indiana drawing clothes in the margins of all my textbooks, watching red carpets, and reverse-engineering the designs behind the gowns. Nobody around me had that dream. I had it anyway.
"I wanted to make art people could wear — and feel incredibly beautiful in."
I received a BAA in Fashion Design with a Theater minor. I worked at a bridal shop and took apart the dresses nobody wanted so I'd have fabric to sew with in school. I applied everywhere, kept getting told I needed more experience. I kept not being able to afford to work for free.
Eating tuna packs. Wearing fast fashion clothes. Taking apart cast-off bridal gowns for fabric. A suspiciously vague job posting for a cruise ship and flight to Florida a week later. The rest is the story, and yes I did it for the plot.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF MY EARLY CAREER
I worked as a costume technician and lead seamstress for theater, aqua, ice, and parade shows on ships all over the world. Shipyards. Studios. Hotels. Theme parks. Backstage training local wardrobe crews. Every place a different classroom.
ELE exists because of all of it — the sketchbook in Indiana, the tuna packs in Michigan, the ships everywhere else. It's built for every person who had the dream before they had the means, and showed up anyway.
BAA
Fashion Design · Theater minor
The degree. The bridal shop scraps. The scholarship that made it possible. All of it brought here.
Ships
Theater · Aqua · Ice · Parade shows
Costume technician. Lead seamstress. Shipyards. Studios. Hotels. Theme Parks. A year on tour. Every place a different lesson.
20+
Courses planned · Free on YouTube
From first seam to couture technique. Because the knowledge should be shared. Always.
Everybody
Included. No exceptions.
Gender-neutral. Inclusive sizing. All backgrounds. All levels. You don't have to know anyone or have buckets of money. You just have to want to make something.
∞
Stories left to tell
The journal is just getting started. The book is being written one entry at a time. The ports aren't going anywhere.
Three Ways to Fall in Love with ELE
We're building connection first, sewing education and cultural storytelling. When the time is right we plan to grow with stories of food and travel. The community grows as we go.
The Journal —
letters from every port I've ever loved.
CULTURAL STORIES
Textile traditions from around the world. The fashion industry's relationship with the people who love it. The particular peace of hand work at midnight on a ship in the middle of the ocean. Written honestly. Sometimes heavy, sometimes funny. Always real.
You do not need the whole craft store to begin sewing.
Tools of the Trade helps you understand what you need now, what may already be hiding inside your machine, and what can wait until a future project actually requires it.
Explore the lesson, build your portable ELE Go Bag, and keep the full companion Reference Guide beside you as you learn.
THE ELE SEWING LIBRARY
ON AFFILATE LINKS
Every supply list includes affiliate links — If you buy through the link ELE earns a small commission at no extra cost to you. This is how free education stays free.
Brand New To Sewing? Begin With The Free Starter Guide
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Erika Erlenbach
Atelier
A couture and costume studio dedicated to creating meaningful garments for the moments that matter most. Red carpet. Special occasion. Drag and performance. Bridal. Theatrical. Every commission begins with a conversation.
Built on years of haute couture technique, theatrical construction, and the discipline of dressing performers who move, sweat, and take curtain calls in what I create for them.
RED CARPET · SPECIAL OCCASION · DRAG & PERFORMANCE · BURLESQUE · BRIDAL · THEATRICAL · COUTURE CUSTOM
You Found Your People.
A global gathering of makers, learners, and curious humans who believe creativity is better shared. We teach, we learn, we hold space — with kindness and the particular solidarity of people who showed up before anyone told them they were allowed to.
"Belonging here is not something to earn. It's just a starting point."
The complete beginner
Never touched a machine. A little scared. That's exactly how it's supposed to feel. You're right on time.
The serious sewist
Ready to go deeper into construction, fit, and couture technique nobody explains enough.
The self-taught maker
Learned from YouTube at midnight. Felt out of place in formal spaces. You belong here more than anywhere.
The theatrical maker
Costume design, quick rig construction, theatrical craftsmanship. Yes, this is your space.
The culture-curious
Here for the textile traditions, the port city stories, the wider world of craft.
The one who had the dream first
Before the money, before the connections, before anyone told you it was possible. You're exactly who this is for.
Stay curious with us.
ELE SEWING LIBRARY · FREE DOWNLOAD
You do not need a perfect sewing room, an expensive collection of tools, or all the answers before you begin.
The Free Starter Guide is a gentle nine-page introduction to the ELE way of learning. Inside, you’ll find:
• The ELE Go Bag checklist
• The tools I actually use
• A simple measurement sheet
• Inclusive fashion croquis
• A look at where your sewing path can take you